Chapter 29 - Helheim's Wrath
A few minutes earlier, with Naruto and Mirajane
Mirajane continued to hit her fist against Naruto's chest. Demanding him to put her down as she didn't want to be carried like a bride. Naruto put her down once they were out of hearing range of the group. He also doubted Gajeel and Natsu would listen in for different reasons.
"Stupid Naruto! Why did you drag me out here!?" Mira asked as she hit her fists against him.
Naruto grabbed Mira's wrists as the girl continued to wail around. Eventually, Mira stopped and began to pant.
"Are you done yet?" Naruto asked.
Mira gave him a glare in response, making the Azure Knight sigh.
"Mira, please drop the tough girl act. You were nothing but sweet since I returned and now you're trying to relapse." Naruto said as Mira listened to him. "I'm not going to belittle you or lecture you. You are an adult and I just want to know what's going on in your head." he said.
Mira glared at him, "Nothing, I just remembered how much I don't like you. I thought you were... well... uh... you're broody now." she said.
"That's it Mira, let your tsundere behavior out. Let out all of the insults until nothing but the truth is left." Naruto said.
"Oh, you want to hear insults you masochist?" Mira asked.
For the next couple of minutes, Mira began to make a bunch of rants that Naruto could not keep up with. A few times, he heard Mira say something about him being an uncool moody guy. Then a few repeated insults from his childhood where she called him a spoiled brat. Along with a few other things before she slowly began to slip up.
'Compared to Sakura during my genin years. Mira's words feel like compliments and words of encouragement.' Naruto thought as Mira slipped up.
"So now you come back to mock me and say that you're in love with a princess! Then stupid Erza tries to trick me and acts like I should ask you! But no, I'm not going to be with you! You missed your chance! You missed your chance by going after some stupid tramp who dresses like a perverted can of soup!" Mira ranted.
"Oh, so you do like me." Naruto said.
Mira turned red from embarrassment, "N-No, I-I meant to say... that you like me! Yeah, you're the one that liked me but... uh... you..."
"Mira, please just stop. I already told you that I can sense emotions on command." Naruto said.
"...you're messing with me!" Mira said.
"I'm not, I've been nothing but honest with you and I want you to be honest with me." Naruto replied.
Mira pulled her wrists away, "If you are so honest, then why don't you let me and Erza help you!? You try coming back to the guild but you won't join us again! If it wasn't for Filo, I probably wouldn't see you for another year or longer!" she said as her eyes watered.
Mira wiped her eyes with her wrists as she cleared her throat. Naruto smiled at her once she started to calm down.
"You are right, maybe without Filo, I would have another reason to run away from my problems. Maybe I keep coming back to feel guilty." Naruto admitted. "But what about you? Why did you change?" he asked.
Mira shook her head, "I didn't! I'm still the same! I'm the Demon of the guild!" she said.
"Really now? Did the demon replace her cute goth clothes for a pretty little dress?" Naruto asked as Mira blushed.
Did Naruto admit to finding old Mira more attractive?
"Look Mira, I can sense your emotions but I wasn't sure if what you felt was love or guilt. Maybe I'm as confused too." Naruto said.
He took a deep breath and composed his thought so he could speak clearly. He didn't want to sound incoherent to Mira who already seemed emotionally sensitive.
"Look, sometimes I felt like I had the answers to everything. Except, I knew even less than I realized." Naruto began to say. "Maybe I felt like I was hurt to the point that I avoided a lot of things, but deep down that's because I'm afraid of hurting myself even more. So while I knew what was going on, I didn't know what to do with it." he explained.
"That sounds stupid!" Mira said childishly.
"Mira, let me finish." Naruto said.
Mira crossed her arms and let him speak his piece.
"I can sense you have feelings for me. Like I said, I thought I knew everything." Naruto said before taking a deep breath. "But I don't. So what I want to know is. How do you feel? How do you really feel?" he asked.
For a moment, Mirajane paused and tried to think of a response. Her childish side wanted to deny any feelings or just mock him. The mature aspect of her tried to deny anything and wanted to play it off as just wanting to be friends with Naruto. However, Mira had a hard time listening to both aspects before being honest with herself for once in her life.
"Fine, I do like you but it's your fault!" Mira snapped.
Naruto silently listened to her.
"Maybe I did stupid things, but you didn't have to run away! You were always trying to be happy and nice despite how I treated you! Except Erza treated you the worst and you still followed her!" Mirajane explained as her eyes welled up. "I met you first and then you brought that sad loner with you! So why didn't you follow me around!? Was I too tough for you!? Is that it!? Did you have a weak heart!?" she asked.
Naruto slowly walked up to Mira as she wiped her tears away.
"I won't use Filo as an excuse, but you care for her like I do. She may have just been some egg you found at first, but she instantly became part of our family and that family is Fairy Tail." Mira said as she started clearing up her eyes.
She didn't notice that Naruto embraced her and held her close to his chest.
"So now I'm waiting everyday for you. So that you can stay but when you do leave... I can always know when to expect you." Mira said as she closed her eyes. "That I can go home with everyone in my family." she said.
Naruto gently moved Mira back and gently looked her in the eye before kissing her forehead.
"So it is love." Naruto said.
Mira looked away, "Let me guess, this is the part where you say you have to think about it or make up some excuse as to why you can't love me back." she said.
"Hm, I think this is the part where I wipe your tears away. Then we can plan on going home together." Naruto said.
"That's not an answer." Mirajane said as she glared.
Naruto smiled, "Maybe I'll give you a real date when we come back. Not some fiasco like with the theatre that Team Natsu burned down." he said.
Mira blushed as she tried to avoid meeting his eyes. Then she felt her crush grab the locket he gave her. Where he then pulled out a small photo.
"I hope this fits." Naruto said as he placed it into the locket. "There, now you also have a picture of our daughter." he said.
"What?" Mira aksed as she took the locket back.
She opened it and found a small portrait of Filo next the photo of Lisanna.
"Now, when you look at her. You can see the both of us." Naruto said before pointing at the photo. "She has my blond hair, your blue eyes and bright smile and she can turn into animals like her auntie Lisanna." he said.
Mira pouted, "That's not fair to Erza." she said.
"She's inherited Erza's desire to be strong for her guild. Filo has some aspects that can't be visually seen." Naruto explained. "I'm surprised you cared enough to think about Erza." he said.
"It might be weird to you, but it's only fair. Filo has two moms and that means she gets extra love." Mira said as she looked at Filo's smiling face.
Naruto smiled at the eldest Strauss before taking her hand, "Let's go, everyone is waiting for us." he said.
Mira nodded and followed after Naruto. All the while she clutched the locket with her free hand and smiled.
Present moment, With Cana
"Those who break the rules are trash, but those abandon their friends are worse than trash."
Cana was an emotional mess, she left Lucy behind in an attempt to find Mavis. Even though Lucy was her partner for the trials, she had no stakes in this. She was just an extra pair of hands and yet Cana decided to knock her out and leave her alone. Before the test began, Cana gave Lucy a card to help let her know if she was danger and it was lighting up brightly.
While Cana had not been aware that Lucy was fine. Cana was feeling guilt in her body as she remembered what Naruto told her shortly before they left on the boat. Cana berated herself for leaving Lucy in danger when she was decided to be selfish and continue the trials despite them being cancelled by Erza's flare. As if life wanted to punish her, Cana only found a sacred piece of magic left behind by Mavis and not her grave.
After the guilt hit her with full force. Cana decided to redeem herself by asking the spirit of Mavis to give her the power Cana had found and use it to save Lucy and anyone else that may be in danger. Only now, it looks like she might not be able to save herself.
"I gotta get back to Lucy! I don't know Master Mavis' power is, but I will use if it means protecting everyone!" Cana said with a new resolve.
As she made her way there, Cana felt a lot of magical pressure. When she suddenly found a man with blue hair with a ponytail tied in some kind of green cloth. The man had this indescribable face as he came close to Cana.
"Do you know where the Fairy Glitter is?" the man asked.
Cana stumbled backwards as she reached for her cards. This stranger's magical pressure was enough to tell Cana that he was a danger and ready to attack her at any moment. Cana quickly reached for her cards when she felt herself being pulled towards the ground.
"If not, let me see if you can fly." the man said.
Cana struggled to stand still as the gravity started to change. When suddenly, a figure in silver and red armor slashed at the man. The man barely avoided several sword slashes before a massive cut appeared on the man's chest. The armored figure then picked up Cana and threw her over their shoulder and began to run.
"Hang on!" the figure yelled before dashing away.
Cana struggled to hang onto the figure as she was taken directly towards the group. Cana was then dropped roughly where she saw Lucy who was okay along with a few more familiar faces. Especially one of the people who was in her mind.
"Naruto?" Cana asked. "How are you here?" she asked.
"Cana I can explain later, only after you explain why you abandoned your teammate." Naruto answered.
Then Cana looked down in sadness before facing Lucy.
"Lucy, I'm sorry for abandoning you. It was selfish and it's unbecoming of a Fairy Tail wizard." Cana said.
Lucy just hugged Cana, "It's fine Cana, but for now. We have to get rid of the Grimoire Heart wizards." she said.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to get into another fight and Naruto's mom doesn't want to let me fight fight her." Natsu said.
"What!?" Cana asked, obviously confused. "Naruto's mom!? Natsu, what are you going on about?" she asked.
Naruto sighed, "I'll introduce you later. For now we…"
Naruto was interrupted by his senses picking up a second signature nearby. In an instant, Naruto shielded everyone one and raised a single hand to perform a hand seal. Resulting in a wall of fire being generated from where the second energy signature is coming from.
"Sieg! What are you doing!?" Mordred asked.
"Someone else is here. That man isn't alone." Naruto warned.
In an instant, the fire was put out by a pair of sharks made of water. Naruto was grabbed by one of the sharks and sent crashing several feet away while Gray used his ice make to freeze the shark. Then proceeding to smash it with all of his might.
"Did Grimoire Heart send someone else after us?" Gray asked.
Another wave of water was sent towards them but Natsu countered it with a lot of fire, causing a veil of steam to surround them.
"Way to go idiot. Now whoever is attacking us has the advantage." Gray said.
"At least I stopped the attack, jerk!" Natsu yelled.
"Enough fighting you two! The enemy is here and using cowardly tactics!" Erza exclaimed.
A moment later, Erza's instincts kicked in and she summoned a sword to her side. Where she quickly raised it and blocked a sneak attack from a man with the appearance of a fish.
"Cowardly? Little girl, you must be ignorant as to how a shinobi fights." Kisame said.
Erza gritted her teeth as Kisame overpowered her in strength. That's when Mordred quickly shoved Kisame with her shoulder, making him skid back a bit.
"What the hell is this? I've seen weird things in Fiore before but I didn't know sea food counted as people." Mordred said as she raised her helmet back up.
Kisame snickered, "You people must be comedians." he said.
Just as Kisame prepared to attack, Wendy formed a hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" she yelled, creating four clones to surround Kisame. "Sky Dragon Roar!" She yelled.
The roar dispersed the steam and cleared everyone's vision. Along with briefly staggering Kisame but it didn't last long as he slammed down Samehada, almost hitting someone in the process. Natsu quickly recognized the sword and attempted to kick Kisame only for the Monster of Kirigakure to block it.
"Hey, it's that stupid magic eating sword! How did you get it, freak!?" Natsu asked angrily.
Natsu was still annoyed with how Zancrow badly hurt him with the sword and sapped some of his magic away. Even now, Natsu felt some stinging from Samehada as he tried hitting again. However, Natsu soon realized Kisame was a lot better than Zancrow and didn't use the sword like a club.
"Boy, this is my sword. I don't know who touched Samehada last time, but I won't be some push over like them." Kisame said with a wide grin.
Natsu grinned back, "Sure, whatever you say. I already know that stupid sword's weakness." he said.
"Then could you at least share what you know about it?" Lucy asked.
"Sure, it drains magic and transfers it to shark boy over here. Except it has problems with fire." Natsu said as he punched his fist into his palm.
Kisame glared as he didn't expect Natsu to know that. However, he had some faith that Natsu didn't have the firepower to actually hurt Samehada like Itachi's Amaterasu flames did. Kisame would quickly realize that he would have to take these wizards seriously.
And that was when Kisame quickly avoided a sudden lightning strike that nearly hit him. He looked and saw Naruto had arrived with Balmung on hand.
"Kisame Hoshigaki, I didn't expect or want this kind of reunion." Naruto said with a serious face.
Kisame looked at him and scoffed.
"What, are you some kind of fan?" Kisame asked.
For a moment, Kisame remembered Might Guy, the taijutsu expert from Konoha. While Kisame doesn't know how long he's been dead for or how Guy is doing right now. He suddenly had bad memories of the man for not remembering him despite facing each other a couple of times until his death. He thought of this because he didn't want to be like Guy and forget a face.
Not to feel rude or feel sentimental, but Kisame just didn't want to be lumped in with a silly dumb guy like Guy. Then again, Kisame tried to tell himself to not care because he's faced a lot of people in his life.
"Really, do you expect me to remember every face I meet?" Kisame asked.
"Sieg, do you know this guy?" Mordred asked, her warrior and mama senses rising up.
"He's Kisame Hoshigaki, a powerful swordsman that's S-Class as a threat. He's stronger than most upper tier dark mages and a missing ninja." Naruto explained with narrowed eyes. "That's code for Ninja Dark Mages." he added.
Before anyone else said anything, Kisame formed hand seals and got to fighting.
"I'm not letting you share anymore of my secrets! Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" he shouted.
Everyone took cover before Natsu decided to jump right at it with a fist filled with fire.
"Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow!" he yelled.
Natsu used the propelling fire to burn through the water bullet and reach Kisame. Who he managed to hit before he could dodge. Only for the undead to turn into water and break down.
"Crap, he can turn into water like Juvia!" Natsu cursed.
"No can't! Water clone!" Naruto yelled.
As the Azure Knight said, the real Kisame appeared and prepared to slash Natsu from behind. Only to have his attack blocked by Mordred who locked her sword against his.
"Is that all you got, Seafood?" Mordred asked mockingly.
Kisame just grinned at her before the two pushed each other away. Kisame traded sword blows with Mordred before slipping up and being hit with a horizontal slash. The attack made Kisame stagger, but he quickly waved it off to deliver a heavy vertical slash against Mordred who crashed into a tree. As Mordred recovered, Kisame realized his lack of wounds and Naruto noticed this as well.
Naruto noticed that Kisame had a familiar red cloak on his body that wasn't the standard Akatsuki uniform. He remembered Nagato and Itachi wore the same ones when they were resurrected.
'The Edo Tensei was used on him. Kisame won't be at full power, but he's invincible right now.' Naruto thought. His thoughts then drifted to Mordred, 'That means my mother is too. Both of them have unlimited energy and can't be defeated without sealing them or killing the summoner.' he thought.
Naruto wanted to go with the theory that Hades resurrected Kisame as he did with Mordred. However, it would take too long to try and find Hades.
'I'll have to worry about that later.' Naruto thought before jumping back.
As Mordred, Erza and Natsu tried to attack Kisame at once. Naruto formed a few hand seals and then slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Wood Style: Smothering Binding Jutsu!" he shouted.
As Kisame pushed away all of his opponents, wooden roots bursted from the ground and immediately surrounded Kisame. Kisame tried to cut through them but quickly found himself wrapped around by the wood. Just as Naruto prepared to further bind him long enough to deal with later. The whole group felt an intense amount of gravity that made Naruto lose control of his technique.
Shortly after, the blue haired man that Cana had run into had finally appeared. From what everyone could see, he had immense power over gravity.
"Is this a party you are throwing?" the man asked, almost mockingly.
"It's this guy again!" Cana yelled.
"Who is he?" Lucy asked.
"If you must know, I am Bluenote Stinger, now tell me where the Fairy Glitter is." Bluenote demanded as the gravity became more intense.
Mordred raised a brow under her helmet, 'Glitter? Why do I feel like I'm supposed to know about that?' she wondered.
The pressure became so intense that crater formed under the fairies and Kisame. With the latter being broken free of the bindings shortly afterwards. However, he was not entirely free as it was too difficult to fight the gravitational pull.
"I wonder if any of you can fly." Bluenote said.
Natsu gritted his teeth as he put the effort to try and stand up. As he did that, Mordred retracted her armor with her son following suit. Both thinking they can get some minor strength by reducing their weight.
"Sieg, I know we barely caught up after 18 years. But care to share mama what other tricks you got on under your sleeve?" Mordred asked, thinking her son could try something to help them.
Naruto raised his head at Bluenote who looked ready to crush them.
"Mother, I'm afraid I can't fly but I can make other people fly." Naruto said, confusing her.
Just as Bluenote was about to further interrogate them. He suddenly felt himself losing his footing before losing all sense of gravity.
"Bansho Ten'in!" Naruto shouted.
Bluenote suddenly lost his grip over everyone and found himself flying towards Naruto. Leaving Bluenote exposed as he tried to stop his mid air flight. With everyone else free, Natsu jumped in the way and kicked Bluenote into the ground.
"How does it feel when someone else makes you fly?" Natsu asked him.
Bluenote began to stand up, "Surprising, now we can both make each other fly." he said, seemingly unfazed.
Before anyone else said anything, Kisame reminded everyone of his appearance. Using the sudden rainfall, he started making generating sharks made of water.
"Water Style: Water Shark Bullet!" Kisame yelled.
Suddenly, a massive shark appeared at the center of the crater. Which ended up grabbing Natsu in it's jaws and sending him crashing into the ground. Naruto turned to Kisame formed hand seals to counter the deceased man.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Naruto shouted.
Kisame swiped at the fire with Samehada and heard his sword feeling some pain from the fire. He wasn't aware that Natsu badly harmed it when Zancrow used it. However, Kisame would soon realize the difficulty of fighting wizards as not all of them just threw elements at him. Samehada could drain chakra, but it could never drain jutsus that used or created physical objects such as Earth Style techniques.
"Ice Make: Arrows!" Gray yelled before launching a barrage of arrows.
Kisame quickly blocked the arrows before finding himself in front of Erza who was in her Flight Armor. Kisame then tried to block each rapid attack before blocking a heavy strike from above.
"What's this? You get your power from throwing a fashion show?" Kisame asked.
Erza didn't answer him and continued attacking before landing a solid kick that sent Kisame crashing against the ground. Gray summoned more arrows of ice to pierce Kisame's body only for the man to shrug them off and recover quickly.
"What the heck is this guy made of?" Gray asked.
"I'll show you guys how it's done!" Natsu yelled as he returned to the fight. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" he yelled.
Kisame looked up and tried to counter the massive wave of fire.
"Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" he yelled but it was ineffective.
Natsu burned through the water and reached Kisame up close.
"Fire Dragon's Claw!" Natsu yelled as he delivered a heavy fiery kick to Kisame.
Kisame skid back a few feet but barely looked scratched.
"He won't take damage. Is this some kind of magic?" Erza asked.
"I'll just have to keep hitting him until he actually feels hurt!" Natsu said.
At the same time, Naruto was fighting Bluenote with the help of Mordred and the other girls. As for Bluenote, he stared at Naruto with an intense gaze as he realized a game of gravity won't be so fun anymore. Well, not fun in terms using his witty joke about flying. Yet, it seemed like Bluenote welcomed a fight and looked more interested as he had opponents that can fight back.
As for Lucy and Cana, they both felt nervous as Bluenote was a lot stronger than them. Luckily they had Naruto and his mother and could work as support.
"Don't get nervous Lucy, this guy isn't a cocky bastard like Freed and Bickslow." Cana said as she drew her guards.
Lucy nodded and drew her whip with one hand and kept another hand on her keys. Just waiting to see who would make the first move.
"Fall." Bluenote said, sending an enormous amount of pressure on the four.
Cana and Lucy quickly collapsed while the other two stood their ground. Naruto prepared to use the Rinnegan when Mordred spoke up.
"Sieg! Throw me!" Mordred yelled, surprising him. "Don't question or argue with me! Just do it!" she commanded.
Like a good disciplined boy, Naruto listened and focused on his mother who stumbled towards his crosshairs.
"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto shouted, sending Mordred flying at Bluenote.
Bluenote raised his guard as Mordred raised her sword over her head. She then brought it down with all the strength she had. Bluenote stood his ground, causing a small crater to form under his feet as he stopped using his magic. He then pushed Mordred away and threw a fist that connected with Mordred's forehead, but the woman didn't go flying. Instead, she grabbed Bluenote's arm as a black metallic material grew on her arm.
Mordred grinned as she pried off the arm and looked at Bluenote in the eye. Where she then dropped Clarent and used her other arm to coat her arm in the same black metallic material before punching him square in the jaw. Sending Blutenote skidding backwards, but recovering quickly.
"You think just because I'm an old woman, I can't hit hard?" Mordred asked as she wiped off her forehead.
Before Bluenote could react, a card appeared under him. He jumped away before the card suddenly exploded. The dark mage quickly dashed to the side as he saw Cana throw a barrage of cards at him and missing at every turn. At the same time, he remembered that he had multiple opponents and quickly raised his guard as Mordred and Naruto barraged him with their swords.
Bluenote struggled to block and parry each blow and prepared to use his gravity magic again to give him breathing room. When Lucy suddenly appeared behind him and wrapped her whip around one of his arms and used all her strength to pull it back. It wasn't a whole lot given her poor strength, but it did hold him off for a brief moment.
And with someone who trained with shinobi for a couple of years. It was like fighting an unarmed man for a couple minutes.
Bluenote took a heavy vertical slash from Balmung before taking a heavy diagonal slash from Clarent. Bluenote's head laid back before returning and finding Mordred's knee hitting his lower jaw.
"Don't let him breathe!" Mordred exclaimed.
"I wasn't thinking of letting him." Naruto replied.
The two dealt massive blows against Bluenote. Knocking him back and forth like a victim of a gang ambush. Hitting and slashing every part they could reach first before Bluenote seemed to have enough.
"Fly!" Bluenote shouted, making everyone fly towards the air.
This included the other half of the team that was focusing on Kisame along with Kisame himself. Bluenote took a moment to spit out some blood and wiping himself clean. When he looked up and saw how high his opponents were.
"There is no more time to have fun. Fall!" he yelled, making everyone rapidly fall back down to earth.
Leaving everyone with trying to think of a way to survive the rapid drop.
"Heaven's Wheel!" Erza yelled.
Erza quickly grabbed Wendy, Natsu and Gray but couldn't fit any room to grab anyone else.
"Where's Happy and Carla when you need them!?" Gray angrily asked.
"Lucy, can't any of your celestial spirits fly?" Wendy asked.
"They can float but not fly. Maybe if I could summon Aquarius, I can convince her to use the rain water and make a slide or something." Lucy said as they came closer to hitting the ground.
Naruto overheard this and decided to try something. Hopefully his timing would be good enough as he grabbed his mother and turned to Mordred.
"Lucy, time this right!" Naruto shouted.
"Time what?" Lucy asked.
"Water Style: Water Bullet!" Naruto shouted.
Lucy panicked at the sight of a massive ball of water coming towards her. When she suddenly realized the plan and pulled out her key.
"Open! Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!" Lucy shouted as she jammed the key into the water bullet at the last second.
Moments later, Aquarius appeared and quickly trapped everyone surrounding her in a large wave of water. Using all the water she could muster from her vase and the heavy rain. Aquarius elegantly created a downward spiral that slowly brought everyone back down. However, she wasn't going to make the drop so gentle as the spiral was pretty big and filled with a lot of pressure.
Which resulted in sending Bluenote flying away a few yards and tossing Kisame around like a cannibal within the water. When the ride was over, Lucy hit the ground pretty roughly with Natsu and Gray. Wendy landed in Mordred's arms as she tucked and rolled on the ground. Naruto also landed a bit roughly before landing on his back without injury. Which earned the attention of Aquarius who quickly panicked.
"Oh no! Siegfried, I didn't know you were there too!" Aquarius exclaimed before glaring at Lucy. "Lucy, you idiot! Look what you made me do!" she yelled.
"Don't blame her, Aquarius. I made Lucy use her key on a ball of water I shot at her." Naruto said.
He didn't have the time to explain how his jutsu worked. Which only confused Aquarius at first before making her laugh.
"Oh, then I wouldn't have come if I knew you were hitting her with something." Aquarius said.
Before Aquarius could further interact with her new crush. Erza fell from the sky and landed on top of Naruto. Given how she wore one of her more revealing armors. Her large bosom obscured Naruto's view of the world.
"Erza, I know you have a pretty body but now is not a good time." Naruto said as he gently pushed her off.
Erza slowly got up before noticing that Mordred was staring at her very awkwardly.
"I don't know why you deny your perverted nature by this point." Naruto said as he sat up.
Mordred narrowed her eyes dangerously at Erza. Which made the Nidaime Titania feel nervous as her predecessor gave her a scary look. The look of a mother who was about to be protective of her child. Luckily (or unluckily), Aquarius stepped in by prying him off.
"Give him some breathing room!" Aquarius said as she tossed Erza asde.
Erza glared at Aquarius as she recovered but before any other formalities could continue. Kisame returned with a wave of sharks heading their way.
"Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!" Kisame yelled.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" Naruto shouted as he defended against the sharks.
Kisame then shattered the earth wall with Samehada. Just as he prepared to attack again, Aquarius recalled her water and trapped Kisame inside a dome of water. Only to find the man thrashing around violently, making it hard for her to hold him.
"What is this thing?" Aquarius asked.
"It's a dangerous criminal. He's a master of water related techniques." Naruto answered.
"A master you say? Let me put that to the test." Aquarius said.
Aquarius quickly realized she couldn't suffocate Kisame then tried to hurt him with the amount of pressure she could muster. Which Kisame could handle given his dead state. The process only continued to frustrate Aquarius as she tried a variety of techniques to hurt Kisame.
"Aquarius, don't strain yourself. He can't take damage in this state." Naruto said.
Before the celestial spirit could question him. Cana raised her arm as several markings started to glow.
"Everyone stand back! I can finish him off!" Cana said.
"Cana, what is that?' Lucy asked with wide eyes.
"Gather! O river of light that's guided by the fairies! Shine! In order to perish the fangs of evil!" Cana chanted.
The sky began to glow brightly before a massive golden ring appeared appeared in the sky. Even Bluenote who recovered in the distance was watching the magic unveil. Where he had mentally confirmed that this is the magic he was looking for.
"What's with the light show?" Mordred asked as she shielded her eyes.
"Fairy Glitter!" Cana shouted.
The ring flew over Kisame as he struggled inside of the dome of water. That didn't stop Aquarius who continued to keep him in place until he was restrained by the ring. Kisame cried out in pain as his body began to crack and slowly break apart.
"It's working!" Lucy cried out.
Naruto looked up and was amazed to see the magic working and had his hopes up. However, he wasn't entirely sure if it would really work. In the past life, his Rasenshuriken was able to deal enough damage to destroy anyone who was resurrected with the Edo Tensei. However, that was still limited as the Sandaime Raikage and Madara were two people he used it on and they were still able to recover albeit slowly.
'Still, maybe I can try to work on sealing Kisame away or something.' Naruto thought, thinking Cana might damage Kisame to break him apart.
However, that's when Naruto noticed Cana's magic was almost completely drained. Naruto didn't realize it at the time, but even with Cana's potential. This magic was clearly high class and would take a massive toll on the user. Even if this worked, Cana would die from exhaustion but it looked like the magic was about to fail.
'Damn it!' Naruto cursed as he rushed towards Cana.
Cana started to pant as her legs began to wobble. When Naruto grabbed her from behind and helped her stay standing. He then placed his hands on her arms and tried to do a transfer of energy to help the girl keep up the technique.
"Naruto, what are you doing?" Cana asked, sounding dazed.
"The magic is burning up your reserves. I'm keeping you energized until it ends." Naruto explained.
Cana was barely able to understand any of that but just nodded. She gritted her teeth as she felt a burning sensation go through her body. Her will and desire to protect her friends are what kept her going. As well as the fact that Bluenote continued to watch from afar as if he was trying to take notes on the Fairy Glitter.
"You're almost done. Hang in there." Naruto said.
Cana nodded as the bright light of Fairy Glitter continued to shine brightly. By the time Cana gave up, Kisame let out one last scream before the ground exploded. Everyone shielded themselves from the massive explosion and waited as the smoke obscured their vision.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Wendy shouted, making the smoke blow away.
After a few seconds, the group saw Kisame had been reduced to half a face and an arm. His body was seemingly regenerating only to fall apart. Like broken mirror trying to be put together, only for each fragment to break into smaller pieces. Kisame sighed as he struggled to move any part of his body. All he could do was stare at Naruto and the rest of Fairy Tail.
"Brat, I have no idea what's going on or who these people are. But I can tell you changed." Kisame managed to say.
Naruto walked away from his crosshairs and began to store Samehada in a sealing scroll. Which didn't stop Kisame from saying his piece.
"I'm not gonna give some stupid speech about regrets or suddenly repent. I can tell you're not that same brat that defeated Pain with a few words like I heard." Kisame said, making Naruto stop in place. "So do me a favor, there's this plant man. All white, green hair and a weird face, his name is Zetsu. Do me a favor and murder his ass for me." he said.
Naruto just turned to the back of Kisame's head as it began to crack again.
"If you're a hardened shinobi, you can handle that much, right?" Kisame asked with a grin. "And another thing, find Samehada a real wielder. I can tell some idiot who doesn't know the difference between a sword and a club used him earlier. I don't trust my old village to find a good successor." he said.
Fairy Tail silently watched as Kisame finished speaking as his head began to fall apart.
"One more thing, I can smell the blood on you. Don't go thinking that makes you a bad guy." Kisame said before completely breaking apart.
"What the hell was that? What was he talking about?" Gray asked.
"Put on your shirt Gray." Naruto said bluntly.
"My shirt? I wanna what that crazy guy was talking about!" Gray exclaimed.
"Yeah, did you know him by chance?" Lucy asked, noticing how Kisame interacted with Naruto.
Naruto stared at Kisame's remains as it flew away into the unknown before speaking again.
"He was a missing nin where he comes from. That's translation, for ninja dark mages." Naruto said.
"Yes, Lucy! Don't lump him in with dirty cretins like that zombie!" Aquarius added.
"He was so not a ninja! Ninjas wear black, they use real swords and smoke bombs and..." Natsu continued to rant until Bluenote appeared again.
"That was the Fairy Glitter, I will be taking it now." Bluenote said as he stared at Cana's barely conscious form.
Everyone prepared to fight Bluenote again only for the man to turn around and raise his guard. As the ground once again shook violently, but not because of Bluenote's magic. Rather, someone else had entered the game and saw the destruction from a distance.
"Sorry I'm late, I would have stuck around if I knew my guild was under attack." said a familiar voice.
Mordred went wide eyed by who she saw. She didn't expect a lot of things and now it became the weirdest reunion ever.
"Gildarts!" almost everyone shouted.
"Gildarts?" Mordred asked.
The original Titania raised her arm as she shielded herself from the massive impact of Gildarts' punches. The Ace of Fairy Tail traded blows with Bluenote before stalemated each other once their fists connected.
"You are quite strong, but can you..." Bluenote tried to ask before being interrupted.
"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto shouted.
Bluenote was caught off guard and sent flying several yards away and landing in the shrubbery. As for Gildarts, his head snapped towards his godson and proceeded to glare at the boy. With a stare that made even Natsu feel a bit unnerved.
"Naruto... Natsu is right! You really don't respect dibs! I taught you better than that!" Gildarts yelled.
Naruto sighed at his godfather's rant. At least Gildarts did better for him in this life compared to Jiraiya. Jiraiya was a good man with a lot of wisdom, but while Gildarts is also a pervert that likes beautiful women. Gildarts at least isn't as creepy and was there for his childhood. Speaking of which, the man was about to see the woman who named him Naruto's godfather.
"Oh hey Mordred, I see you're here too. You should really tell your son that... wait, what the hell?" Gildarts asked.
Gildarts felt like his brain just melted as he saw Mordred standing right in front of him. Of course, being powerful and experienced didn't make him a genius but he could tell something was wrong. So he quickly ran up to Mordred and pulled on her face and limbs to check if she was real before turning to Naruto.
"Naruto! This isn't funny! You can't use a clone and make it look like your mother!" Gildarts angrily yelled, thinking this was a sick prank.
In response, Mordred grew a tick mark on her head and punched Gildarts with enough force to make him fly into the sky.
"I am the real Mordred!" Mordred yelled.
Gildarts crashed down and hit the ground hard, but then quickly recovered.
"Naruto, this is seriously not a good joke. You didn't even make her look right." he said, still in disbelief.
"Gildarts, that woman is indeed Naruto's mother." Erza said on Mordred's behalf.
"Prove it." Gildarts said.
Mordred groaned, "Let's see, you're a womanizer that has bad luck with women. We used to call you Shanks back in the day when you wore a straw hat. Also, you're married to a brown haired woman named... Emilia? Ophelia? No, crap what was it?" she asked.
"Gildarts was married!?" Natsu asked.
"A guy like him!? Really!?" Gray asked.
"I suppose love comes in all shapes." Erza said as she closed her eyes.
Gildarts looked surprised by the last part. He didn't remember if he told Naruto the part about his old nickname and the womanizing part is something memorable. Gildarts' marriage isn't something he ever brought up after his wife left him for working too much. A few of the adults like Makarov knew but Gildarts never told any of the younger generation.
"Cornelia! That was the name, you're married to a woman named Cornelia!" Mordred said, surprising both Gildarts and Cana.
'She's knows? But how?' Cana thought, feeling shocked.
Naruto turned and saw Cana's surprised look. Deep down, he was the only one of his generation to know Gildarts was married because only he knew Cana's secret. However, he was surprised to see his mother knew about the marriage. Then again, it's been 18 years since Mordred died so Gildarts was likely still married to Cana's mother before her birth so Mordred is likely unaware of who Cana is. Given how Gildarts was probably heartbroken, it made sense that he never spoke about the marriage.
As for Gildarts, he picked up Mordred by the waist and shook her.
"Mordred! It is you! Now tell me where the hell you have been! You missed out on 18 years of the lives of your sons!" Gildarts exclaimed.
Mordred snarled before delivering a punch to his head that made him drop her.
"Damn it you idiot! Don't you see I'm a zombie!? I'm freaking back from the dead!" Mordred exclaimed. "You don't think I'm confused and weirded out? It only feels like a whole day passed for me. My newborn baby is a grown adult now and no one is telling me what happened to Laxus." she said with a tired sigh.
Gildarts then looked confused by the last part and brought up his own concern.
"You know, I asked Makarov about Laxus and he was pretty vague about it." Gildarts said, not noticing the odd looks that some of the others were making.
It seemed like Makarov had yet to fully disclose Laxus being excommunicated. Whether he found it too awkward to explain or didn't find a reason to suddenly bring it up remains a mystery.
However, before anything else could be covered. Everyone felt the gravity trying to pull them back down. Where they turned and saw Bluenote had returned.
"Oh great, the guy with the flying fetish is back!" Natsu growled.
"This guy is worse than the shark!" Happy yelled.
Mordred gritted her teeth, "Sieg, take everyone and leave. Gildarts can take this guy on!" she said.
Naruto stared at his mother for a moment before making a few clones from magic. One grabbed Cana and took her back to the camp as her current state wouldn't let her fight anymore. The other clones grabbed the exceeds, Lucy and Wendy while the rest of the group was strong enough to run on their own.
Once they left, Mordred stood her ground and began to walk when Gildarts already rushed forward towards Bluenote. Disrupting his attack with a heavy blow meant for his face. Bluenote stopped it and stood his ground against Gildarts, only to find himself trying to shield himself from Mordred's sword strike.
"This is one hell of a reunion." Mordred said.
Gildarts snickered, "Today is full of surprises and butt kickings." he replied.
"But aren't unconventional days what makes Fairy Tail great?" Mordred asked.
The two broke Bluenote's guard and infused all the strength they could muster into their fists. Sending the gravity user crashing into a boulder.
"Exactly." Gildarts said. "I almost pity this dark guild because Fairy Tail's original fairy queen is back." he said.
"...I still don't like that nickname." Mordred replied.
A while later, at the Grimoire Heart Airship
A few minutes later, the group arrived at the airship which had docked itself on the sand. They looked around and saw the area was empty and only had a large flag bearing the symbol of the dark guild standing proudly on the sand. Naruto was about to destroy it when Natsu incinerated it first.
"It's not so funny, is it?" Natsu asked.
Naruto ignored him and went inside with Erza following close behind. At the same time, Wendy wondered why Natsu sounded a bit aggressive towards Naruto.
"Did those two have an argument?" Wendy asked.
"That idiot is just complaining about Naruto stealing fights. So he's trying to get back at him." Gray answered.
"I'm sure the fool will get over it with another battle." Carla said with a scoff.
Once they entered the airship, it looked empty and Naruto tried to scan the area with his Rinnegan. Instead, all he found was a large source of magic under the deck of the ship and it looked somewhat sentient.
"This aircraft is powered by some kind of generator. It feels like I'm staring at a heart." Naruto said as he touched the floor.
Lucy and Wendy shivered at the idea of the ship being sentient and having organs. Even Carla and Happy felt some mild discomfort and hoped Naruto was kidding.
"Regardless, I recommend we destroy it." Panther Lily said.
"Or we could hang back and help some other way." Happy said, trying to hide his cowardice.
Panther Lily gave him an annoyed stare before looking around for a way to reach the generator. When a voice spoke up and caught everyone's attention.
"So Makarov's batch of misfits have arrived. I would commend you on your bravery, but knowing how the guild is. It's just stupidity and recklessness to challenge me, despite knowing that I crushed your guild master." Hades said from his hiding spot.
"You hurt the old man!? I'm kicking your ass!" Natsu yelled.
"Natsu, be cautious, we have to work together. This man is powerful and it will take everything we have to take him on." Erza warned.
Natsu understood that but was still eager to beat up Hades. So he ran towards the main deck first with everyone else following behind.
"Happy, go help Panther Lily to break that generator. Take Carla too." Natsu said.
Happy shook off his fear of possibly finding a living heart in the ship and followed after Panther Lily. Carla sighed and did the same knowing she doesn't have any fighting prowess to help. At the very least, the two weaker exceeds could try to lend a hand and stop the airship from taking off.
Once the main group reached the main deck, they found Hades who waited for him. Once again, being very eager, Natsu was the first to try and attack him by unleashing a massive fireball.
"Take this! This what you get for messing with Fairy Tail!" Natsu yelled.
Hades surprisingly dispersed the fireball with ease. However, that didn't stop everyone else from attacking him at once.
Gray crafted a sword with his ice magic and Erza attacked while in her Black Wing armor. Hades dodged Erza's attack and then blocked Gray's attack with minor difficulty. Before shattering the sword and kneeing Gray in the chest. Hades then kicked Gray away before avoiding another strike from Erza. Where he then summoned a chain and wrapped it around Erza before swinging her around the room.
"Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" Lucy cried out.
Suddenly, Taurus came bursting out from the floorboards behind Hades and swung at Hades. Only for a strange plant to burst out in between them and snag Taurus' axe. Taurus managed to rip out his axe and started cutting the plant away before being doused with a plant spore that made him feel dazed.
"Lucy, I think someone is smoking something funky here." Taurus said as he wildly swung in Hades' direction.
Hades avoided the sloppy attacks before firing magic bullets at Taurus. Sending him crashing towards the other side of the room. Taurus could have recovered and continued with the fight, but Lucy realized her celestial spirit would only be hindered due to the spores.
"Sorry Taurus, I hope you can recover soon." Lucy said as she closed his gate.
"I'll take him out! Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Natsu shouted as he rushed at Hades.
Only for another plant to spring up in front of him like a barrier. However, it wasn't prepared for the intensity of Natsu's attack as he burned it on impact and still managed to hit Hades who skid back a few feet. Hades stood up straight and raised his fingers at Natsu who tried to hit him again.
"Bansho Ten'in!" Naruto shouted, pulling Natsu back with his gravitational pull.
As Natsu was pulled back, he saw Hades almost shot him with a barrage of magic bullets. Once Natsu was out of the way, Naruto summoned a barrage of chakra rods to try and pierce Hades. Only for the man to suddenly raise his voice.
"Katsu!" he shouted.
The chakra rods were completely obliterated before they reached their target. Along with several swords that Erza tried to launch at Hades including a few birds made of ice.
"I thought Natsu was a loudmouth, but this guy is on a whole other level!" Gray said.
"Now isn't a good time to banter." Naruto said.
"Naruto is right, we have to coordinate our attacks. We cannot just jump in all at once or take turns." Erza said.
Hades scoffed as he dusted himself off, "For Makarov's babies, you are strong but lack experience." he said.
"How do you know the master?" Natsu asked.
"I was his predecessor and the one who named him the third master. Its clear he was too lenient when it came the next batch of fairies." Hades said as if he was disappointed.
"What are you talking about old man?" Natsu asked impatiently.
"Before I became Hades, I was Precht Gaebolg, Fairy Tail's second master." Hades said, surprising them.
"Lies!" Erza cried out furiously
Erza rushed at Hades in her flight armor and tried to cut him down quickly, but Hades blocked her attack with his wrist guards.
"I don't have anything to gain by lying. I am not some upstart like the foes you faced before." Hades said before pushing her away.
"I will not accept this claim! You have harmed my guild's sacred land!" Erza yelled as she swung at Hades who dodged each attack.
At the same time, Gray slammed his palms into the ground and managed to freeze the ground. Where the ice reached Hades' legs and temporarily kept him held in place.
"A few parlor tricks is not enough." Hades said before breaking one leg free.
"Fire Dragon Sword!" Natsu shouted, hitting Hades again.
Hades flew across the room and crashed into a wall. Just as Hades began to try and break out. He saw six clones of Wendy appear in front of him.
"Sky Dragon Roar!" the clones shouted.
Hades gritted his teeth as he tried to fight back against the massive gust of wind that hit him.
"Katsu!" Hades shouted, obliterating the clones.
"Woah! Its a good thing I wasn't there." Wendy said as she panted.
"Wendy, you are looking really tired." Lucy pointed out.
"It's the technique. Papa taught it to me, but he said it takes lot of chakra." Wendy said as she leaned on a wall.
"Here, stay close to me." Lucy said as she held her close.
Meanwhile, Hades threw himself onto the floor as he avoided a barrage of kunai and shuriken that nearly impaled him. He turned to look at Naruto who had thrown the weapons. Naruto then dashed after Hades who dodged or block each attack before jumping away as Naruto blew a wave of fire at him.
"So this is the legendary Azure Knight, the one who spent two years on a rampage across Fiore." Hades commented before ducking from another sword strike.
Naruto didn't respond and continued to attack before Hades delivered a heavy blow to his feet. Which Naruto recovered from and quickly summoned a zweihander before delivering a heavy vertical slow. Hades was sent flying high into the air which let him exposed for the others to attack.
"Ice Make: Ice Cannon!" Gray shouts as he hits Hades with a massive blast of ice.
Once Hades hit the ground again, he looked up to see Naruto raising his heavy sword at him. Hades quickly raised his hands and summoned more chains to hold Naruto back and keep him from attacking him.
"Tell me, Knight. Did you plan for the end of you life to be one of glory or to be killed the way you lived?" Hades asked as he struggled to hold him back.
"I lived with life feeling many regrets, but I won't die letting them define me." Naruto said before Hades got a clear view of his eyes.
'Rinnegan!' thought a figure behind Hades.
"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto shouted, sending Hades through the wall.
A second later, a few swords landed in front of Naruto, courtesy of Erza.
"I had him." Erza said as she retrieved her weapons.
"No you didn't." Naruto replied, making Erza feel slightly annoyed.
Just as she was about to say something. Naruto wrapped an arm around her waist and jumped backwards. Where they then avoided a barrage of magic bullets from the wall that Hades went through. The old man came crawling out and continued shooting, making everyone scatter.
Naruto then noticed Hades summoning a variety of plants from the floors. With many looking like venus fly traps with the wizards trying to avoid them. That is until Wendy was grabbed and swallowed.
"Wendy!" everyone shouted.
Seconds later, Wendy poofed away and left her clothes behind. Everyone was confused until Horologium suddenly appeared with Wendy inside, wearing a set of clothes from the Celestial Spirit world.
"Horologium? But I didn't summon you." Lucy said as Wendy was let out.
"You did not have to, I sensed the danger and saved Miss Wendy." Horologium said.
"Then why didn't you save me when I almost got eaten a hundred times or when that Kain guy attacked em?" Lucy asked, sounding irate.
"I apologize, my Automatic Danger Response Mode only activated because this point of danger is much higher than those times." Horologium explained. "Unfortunately, that is the only time I can save anyone as this mode has depleted me." he added.
"So wait, you couldn't save Lucy every other time she was in danger because it costs you energy?" Gray asked.
"Unfortunately, that is the case." Horologium confirmed. "Also, watch out for the plants." he said before leaving.
Wendy and Lucy shrieked before Gray surrounded the girls in a dome of ice to block the plants. He then crafted a sword of ice and tried slicing them off with Erza following suit. Meanwhile Naruto wass scanning the room and noticing a lot of chakra from the plants. Which stood out in comparison to magic despite having a weaker presence.
"Natsu, set the entire deck on fire!" Naruto shouted.
"What did you just tell him to do!?" Gray asked.
"Amaterasu!" Naruto shouted as he sent a wave of black flames at Natsu.
Natsu let out a slight gagging noise as he adjusted to the taste of the black flames. He then took a few seconds to the flames before charging up his magic. Giving Erza and Gray time to grab Wendy and Lucy and get them to safety. Naruto destroyed the ceiling and escaped through there as he prepared for the worst.
"Illuminating Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted as he blew up the upper deck of the airship.
Hades raised his guard before using his magic to generate the strongest barrier he could muster. The plants even tried to defend him only to burn away before sending Hades crashing through the floor of the ship. When the attack ended, the ship became a heavy wreck and the top deck looked barely salvageable. With Natsu noticing how deep his fire went. Making him worry about Happy and the other exceeds, hoping they didn't get hurt in the blast.
"Wooh, I really got practice that. I think I'm feeling stronger." Natsu said, realizing his body was adjusting thanks to the black fire.
However, it was far from over as Hades came bursting out from the lower deck with the entirety of the left side of his body burned badly. The dark guild master panted and glared at Natsu before charging his hands with black magic. Releasing a heavy amount of deadly aura as Natsu stood his ground.
"I'll keep hitting if you keep getting back up!" Natsu said as he punched his hand into his palm.
"Fool, no matter the power. You are still an ignorant child." Hades said before launching his chains at Natsu.
Only for them all to be blocked by a wave of Erza's swords as the Titania came down. Erza swung at Hades who dodged each attack before trying to punch her in the gut. Only to find his face making contact with Naruto's arm which as coated in stone. Causing Hades to skid backwards but slowly recover.
Hades wasn't done yet as he started generating three purple magic seals.
"How much energy does this old geezer have?" Natsu asked.
"Don't underestimate an old man in a career where young men die." Naruto said.
"I don't know what that means." Natsu said.
"It means, Hades is old but not stupid or inexperienced." Erza said.
Suddenly, the trio were trapped in some kind of cylindrical barrier. Naruto tried to summon a wave of chakra rods to hit Hades with but the barriers around him blocked them. Natsu also tried to escape the barrier but found himself boxed in.
"It's no use! Get under me!" Erza exclaimed as she Requipped her Adamantine Armor.
Naruto and Natsu kneeled down as Erza raised her shield in an attempt to block the incoming attack.
"Amaterasu: Formula 28!" Hades shouted.
"He stole the name of my technique." Naruto said with a glare.
"Oh, you get offended that someone steals a name, but say nothing about stealing fights?" Natsu asked, sounding annoyed.
"Natsu, now is not a good time to..." Erza tried to say before being hit with a powerful shockwave.
Erza did her best to stand her ground and used all of her willpower to defend herself and her friends. However it felt difficult as her shield started to crack. Erza felt like the pressure wasn't just an ability that hit her with pure power. Erza felt like it was one big wide attack and her defense wasn't enough to shield herself and her companions.
'I can't give up! I can't break!' Erza thought as she gritted her teeth. She then looked down at Natsu and Naruto, 'I have to protect my little brother and my... my...'
Erza's thoughts were cut off as a loud explosion hit the remaining portion of the deck. The whole deck was filled with lightning and the amount of pressure sent Hades skidding back. Which cancelled the Amaterasu technique, allowing Erza to drop her guard and fall into Naruto's arms.
"I got you." Naruto said as Erza nodded.
"Aw hell no!" Natsu shouted.
Once the lightning and the dust cloud followed by it was settled down. Laxus revealed himself, covered in lightning and holding Clarent in his hand. Natsu slowly stood up and stared at Laxus with his good eye narrowed at him.
"So Makarov's grandson has arrived. If your mother was here as well, I would have a whole complete set ready to destroy." Hades said.
The lightning around Laxus grew more intense as it surrounded Clarent as well. Laxus gripped his sword tightly and raised it the same way Mordred taught him as a child.
"Laxus, I'm not going to drill you on sword etiquette. Just know that a sword isn't like a bat. Don't swing it like you're playing baseball. Its heavy and you need to put your muscles into it, but learn how to move it properly."
Laxus closed his eyes and thought more about Mordred's words.
"Don't be scared, you're only learning. The first step, don't let it fall out of your hands. No butter fingers allowed here. Second step, hit your target and make sure the sharp part hits them. Your muscles will develop so you can move it much easier when you get older."
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Jerk!" Natsu shouted.
"Natsu, be quiet. I wasn't even planning to come here, but then I had this gut feeling that something was wrong." Laxus began to say.
As Laxus sized up Hades and sensed the evil power within him. Laxus was suddenly caught off guard and sent flying. Not by Hades or the mysterious force that guided him. Heck, with what happened, Laxus expected Natsu to have ignored the monologue he secretly prepared. Only to look and see that his younger brother had gripped him and tossed him aside.
"Yeet." Naruto said casually.
"SIEG!" Laxus shouted as he hit a piece of debris.
At that moment, Lucy returned with Wendy and Gray.
"Hang on guys, we're... hey is that Laxus?" Lucy asked.
"Who?" Wendy asked.
"Oh right, you haven't met Laxus. He's kind of a jerk that did dumb things that got him kicked out." Gray explained.
"And because of that, he's not supposed to be on the island. Grandfather Makarov will be giving him a long lecture for being stupid." Naruto said.
Laxus suddenly jumped up to his feet, "Hey! I come all this way and try to help and you decide to throw me away!? What the hell!? Don't you know I had this spiritual journey for the past few months!? I met a lot of people and learned a lot of things and...!"
"Go write a book on it." Naruto interrupted.
Laxus paused a tick mark appeared on his head.
"You are making it so hard for me to apologize and redeem myself." Laxus said as he raised his fist.
"You really all are children. Rambling on when you should be working together when your demise is in front of you." Hades said as he reached for his eyepatch. "No matter your numbers, the amount of failures will increase." he said as he ripped off his eyepatch.
Suddenly, the entire group was hit with a high amount of magical pressure that made most of the group shield themselves. Naruto summoned Soul Calibur to his side with the intent to end this. He then watched as Erza, Natsu, and even Laxus joined him with the last one still feeling bitter.
"I came to help and he just tosses me." Laxus grumbled.
"I'm just giving you the same amount of affection you gave me." Naruto replied, earning an annoyed grunt.
Meanwhile, Lucy and Wendy went to the side and tried to support the group from a distance. However, as the fight began and Hades prepared to unleash a new power he believed would be enough to destroy them. Naruto noticed a small figure slowly trying to stick out from behind Hades. He began to recognize it only to grunt as he felt his heart slow for a second but stood strong.
Erza was the only one that noticed it but thought Naruto was either getting tired or couldn't handle Hades' magical pressure.
"Naruto, we're doing this together." Erza said, reminding him that he can't toss her aside again.
Naruto nodded but felt his heart beating heavily.
'Let me finish him. Let me devour him.' said a familiar voice that made Naruto wince as his eyes flickered between purple to bright red.
With Mordred and Gildarts
After a long fight, Bluenote collapsed onto his back and Mordred stomped on his chest. The Shodaime Titania grinned at Gildarts who was catching his breathe.
"You're lucky Mo-chan. Being a zombie keeps you from getting tired and you can see your kid again." Gildarts said.
"Hey speaking of my kids, do you know what happened to Laxus? I've been asking but no one told me anything." Mordred said.
Gildarts scratched his head, "Sorry, the master was always dodging that question. He kept making an excuse but I doubt something happened to the kid. He grew up to be bull headed and proud like you." he said.
Mordred grinned, "That's my boy. Even if I didn't give birth to him, he's my special little man like Sieg." she said.
Gildarts then felt a bit uncomfortable as Makarov shared a weird piece of information. He wasn't sure if now was a good time tell Mordred. Since it was weird, disturbing and Gildarts himself didn't understand the whole process.
"Mordred, the master dug up some stuff about Laxus. Apparently before the master asked you to start taking care of him. He learned some stuff that Ivan did before..." Gildarts tried to say before Mordred raised her hand.
"Yeah, I know Ivan is a bastard, but that can wait." Mordred said as her instincts told her something was coming.
Mordred raised her blade and prepared for another dark mage or someone else resurrected by the edo-tensei. Instead, she saw someone crash nearby and quickly ran towards them with Gildarts right behind her.
"I would like to repeat my earlier statement." Gildarts said as he panted.
Perhaps Gildarts was just growing old as he was in his forties now. However, he didn't have time to worry about getting out of shape or anything like that. Gildarts looked at the crash site with Mordred and saw a dark haired woman with a butterfly mask that obscured the upperhalf of her face. Leaving Mordred weary of the woman as she assumed this was another member of Grimoire Heart.
The girl slowly stood up and groaned while muttering under her breath.
"Laxus, you fool. I thought you would have learned basic manners right now." the woman muttered.
"Okay girlie, stand up so I can knock your ass out." Mordred said casually.
The woman looked up and raised her sword before getting a good look at Mordred. Which prompted Mordred to see her as an enemy and in an instant. The woman in the mask found herself struggling to stand her ground and keep her guard up.
'So strong! My hand almost feel numb just trying to keep my guard up!' the woman thought.
She then looked at Mordred's armor was surprised. Barely able to block Mordred's attacks before finding herself hitting the ground. The woman rolled away a second before Mordred could decapitate her.
'That armor! It couldn't be!' she thought.
The woman composed herself and parried the next blow before sidestepping from the next slash that hit the ground. The woman quickly thrusted her sword forward only for Mordred to block it with her gauntlet. Just as the masked woman tried to strike again, Mordred blocked the sword and smacked it out of her hand. The woman stumbled backwards as Mordred brought down her sword, nearly slashing her in a downward angle.
However, the masked woman wasn't completely unscathed as her butterfly mask was slashed. In an instant, the woman's face was fully revealed with her having dark blue looking eyes and a pale face.
Mordred slowed down for a moment as she looked at the girl's face. For a moment, she thought she saw Lancelot's face for a moment. Then Mordred noticed the woman's sword and noticed its design. The hilt, the shape of the blade and the crossguard all looked too familiar. The only thing that looked different was the dark color.
"Ardonight? It can't be." Mordred whispered.
Ardonight was Lancelot's sword and it was golden with a blue hilt. This blade looked a lot darker, almost like it was meant to be evil or something. Mordred then turned her attention to the young woman and aimed her sword at her neck.
"Who are you?" Mordred asked.
"My name is Lucina. I'm an honorary member of the Knights of the Round. I was here on a journey with another before he pushed me off in mid-air." Lucina said as she tried to reach for a broach.
Mordred was silent but behind her helmet were eyes of distrust. By this point in time, the Knights of the Round were still famous and while respected, were just a good way to lie or compare yourselves to someone of great power or infamy. Her point being proven by Gajeel randomly referring to her son by random knights of the more well known knights.
Before Mordred could attack Lucina, she saw the broach which in itself could be fake or just be an overpriced accessory. However, being a former knight, Mordred remembered the same distinct design she was given shortly after she joined the roundtable.
"Why are you here?" Mordred asked.
"I was dropped off by my companion. His name is Laxus Dreyar." Lucina said, surprising her.
Gildarts suddenly spoke up before Mordred could reply.
"What!? Gildarts was out travelling and hanging out with pretty girls!? Why didn't the master tell me!? I could have given the kid some advice!" Gildarts shouted.
"Shut up! Also, why are you just standing there!?" Mordred angrily asked.
"You had it under control, I wasn't about to interrupt." Gildarts answered.
For some reason, Mordred accepted that answer. She then looked back at Lucina one more time.
"Why were you around my son? Why is Camelot in Fiore of all places?" Mordred asked, her bitter memories of Camelot still present.
Mordred wanted to abandon all memories of that place. Her mother was just an evil witch who thought for herself and was incapable of showing love. Her "father" was some emotionless ruler with great power and detached herself from her humanity in an attempt to be a good king. The latter refusing to see Mordred as her child because she saw Mordred as an incapable ruler when all she wanted was love.
The only good memory Mordred had was of Merlin who lent her an ear and suggested finding her a new path. One where she can be the master of her own life.
As for Lucina she took a deep breath before explaining herself.
"Years ago, I ventured into Fiore to seek out a member of my family." Lucina said.
"And who would that be?" Mordred asked.
Mordred allowed her helmet to lower itself, revealing her face. Despite how decayed it looked, Lucina gave Mordred a surprised look only to smile as she put a hand on her heart.
"For you, big sister Mordred." Lucina said, suddenly looking emotional.
"Mordred, why didn't you tell us that you have a sister?" Gildarts asked as his eyes shrunk.
"…I didn't have one, last time I checked." Mordred said.
Meanwhile in Camelot
Gareth sneezed loudly as she sat by herself in the training area.
"Oh no, I'm getting sick." she said as she wiped her nose. "I wonder how Lucina is doing on her quest. I hope its going well. If I had a big sister, I wouldn't stop to eat or sleep just so I can meet her." she said cheerfully.
Ironically unaware that she does have siblings.
Meanwhile with a Zetsu clone
Yomazu and Kawazu were crying out in pain as they were wrapped around in wooden vines. The two dark mages who escaped Erza's sight after she retreated to camp with Levy and Gajeel were fighting to escape their demise. They looked down as a sealing mark appeared under them.
"Stop crying, your usefulness has come to an end." a Zetsu clone said.
The two dark mages cried out in pain before being sacrificed with a modified version of the edo tensei. Where their bodies were swallowed up and replaced by two coffins that opened up.
The first opened and the body of a red haired woman in a green dress collapsed to the ground. The Zetsu clone quickly ran up and checked on it but saw how it was incapable of moving or reacting. The clone thought the forbidden technique had failed only to watch as a purple haired woman with an origami flower came walking out just fine.
"Where am I? Where is Madara?" She asked.
The clone looked at the redhead's body and tossed it aside, letting it crumble back into dust. The clone then grinned at theother woman before throwing a talisman into her head.
"What is this?" she asked before realizing she had no control of her body.
"At least you were able to return, Konan." the clone said.
"Zetsu!" Konan exclaimed in surprised.
She noticed the clone looked different compared to the Zetsu she knew but couldn't say anything. As she found herself being forced to run into the forest.
"From the underworld, you return to the world of the living. Now go Angel of Ame, kill the fairies!" the clone ordered.
Konan struggled to fight for control but found herself in an ironic situation. She fought all her life to make Ame a better place and maybe help create a better world. Then she lost herself in her own hubris, allowing Akatsuki to turn into a nihilistic cult. Now, Konan lost control of her free will as she sees that she was summoned from the dead to harm the innocent once again.
As Konan left, the clone left the area in frustration.
"I should tell the main Zetsu the news. Kushina Uzumaki was unable to summoned." the clone said as it returned to the shadows.
TO BE CONTINUED…
QA with Siegfried Naruto
Naruto: If the story wasn't interesting enough, I wouldn't be surprised if people gave up after months of waiting. Still, let's hope this story reaches the Tartaros arc by New Year. Anyways, let's get some questions answered before I ramble on! My soul is complete again but my mind is still a jumbled mess!
Question 1 (Guest): Is Erza a pervert? I bet she reads Jiraiya's books... how do you feel about this, Naruto?
Naruto: Excuse my bluntness because some of my old personality is back. For the answer to your question is… well duuuuhhhh. Also, I try to avoid giving Erza weird looks. Since you know the obvious pairings, I'm going to try and avoid doing whatever weird sex positions are going on in that stupid book.
Question 2 (Guest): Is Jellal dead? Or will he come back?
Naruto: I think his body is food for the maggots by this point. Seriously, you guys complain about me letting Laxus off easy but said nothing about Jellal being obviously dead.
Question 3 (Troll): Naruto, did you know that every night, Gajeel looks under his bed in fear of you before he goes to sleep? And from time to time he has nightmares about you.
Naruto: Good, that should teach him better.
Question 4 (Guest): Did Mordred mistake Erza for Irene? This is the only explanation for her attacking Erza. Have these two women clashed in the past?
Naruto: Actually, yeah she did. Irene was meant to be subtly mentioned and shown in a flashback in the future.
Question 5 (Guest): Sieg, from a scale from killing to torture in the most gruesome way possible plus adding citrus for more pain, what will you do to Hades after you find out he used Edo Tensei?
Naruto: The recipe for dark mage lemonade is water, citrus, salt rather than sugar and one dark mage missing his flesh. I will perform a physical demonstration of it in the next chapter so you can all do it at home. Now, let's get to the Kingdom of Fiore secret.
Secret: Hades is uneducated when it comes to mythology. Despite his intelligence, Hades doesn't bother doing any research on mythology. Given his appearance and powers, Hades should be more like Odin due to losing his eye in his youth and later obtaining great knowledge, similar to Odin when he came to the well for knowledge. Also, he called the Seven dark mages he taught as the Seven Kin of Purgatory, Purgatory is a Judeo-Christian belief.
Naruto: For mythology related stuff, look up the Mythology Guy on YouTube, he's hilarious and can explain myths quite easily. Or you can wait for the eventual Percy Jackson stories R0tatcid will make. Anyways, that's enough advertising, hopefully the next chapter will be out by August and not December or something. Next Time: Chapter 30! Heart of the Family!